business thing. Can you guys come by then?”
“I can make it,” Matthew affirmed. His eyes shone with excitement at the plan.
“We’ll be there,” Sam said.
“Good.” A thrill ran through her at the idea of finally getting the truth. Still, a small part of her shivered at what she might learn. She couldn’t believe how fast her world had turned upside down and she didn’t know what possibility to hope for.
Chapter Twelve
Later that night, Courtney realized her audition was fast approaching and she had yet to learn the part she was supposed to use. Oddly enough, she couldn’t get the energy to worry about it, or even care. Finding her real family had become far more important.
A pang of guilt settled in her gut as she realized she was going to have to back out, but it had to be done. She fingered the script and allowed herself to daydream about going through with the audition, but she couldn’t see how to make it work. In her mind, there was little chance she would do a good job with such a huge distraction hanging over her head, and she refused to go unless she could give it her best effort. At least the play was over tomorrow night.
Courtney stood from her bed and walked over to the door, clicking the lock shut. Secure that she had the privacy she wanted, Courtney opened her computer to do some more research. She tapped the surface of her desk while she mulled over where to start. She decided the best thing was to check for any kidnapping cases around that time in the area the note came from.
Courtney entered the search terms and waited for the results to pop up. She picked up a pencil sitting on the desk beside her and absentmindedly twirled it as she waited. The list of results brought a sense of unease. There weren’t that many in the area, but there were enough that it would take time to get through each one to compare the facts she knew with the articles.
She went through the links slowly, taking in every detail, but nothing seemed to quite fit. She tried again, using a couple of other places where she had family, but had the same luck. There was no shortage of cases, but all of them seemed to have at least one detail that didn’t match up.
She shut the computer off and got up, pacing the room over and over. The dead-end made her stomach knot. Each failure pointed more and more to them telling the truth, and she didn’t know if that was something she could deal with. She plopped down on her bed, gripping the corner of her pillow tight as she curled up against it, snorting at the idea she would almost prefer them being criminals at this point.
She realized if she was going to get any further, she would have to get her hands on her parents’ old stuff. She needed solid information that came from something other than her father’s mouth right now. She just hoped they still had it in the house somewhere.
****
Courtney stood backstage feeling even edgier than she usually did before a performance. After she walked offstage, she, Matthew, and Sam would head back to her house. The idea of what she might find that night made her feel sick to her stomach, but she breathed through it in an effort to avoid messing up in front of an auditorium full of people. She may have lost her sense of self, but at least she still had her pride.
As usual, the moment she stepped onstage everything else disappeared and Courtney allowed herself to get lost in the fictional drama of her character instead of her own. She put everything she had into the performance, almost breaking down several times. At the end of one scene in particular, the audience stared at her in stunned silence. The quiet engulfed the room for several beats before giving way to thunderous applause.
She felt the same energy flowing through her for the rest of the show, and she let it carry her to the curtain call. When she took her bows, she felt like she was flying. She’d never experienced such a sensation in her life and she loved every
“I can make it,” Matthew affirmed. His eyes shone with excitement at the plan.
“We’ll be there,” Sam said.
“Good.” A thrill ran through her at the idea of finally getting the truth. Still, a small part of her shivered at what she might learn. She couldn’t believe how fast her world had turned upside down and she didn’t know what possibility to hope for.
Chapter Twelve
Later that night, Courtney realized her audition was fast approaching and she had yet to learn the part she was supposed to use. Oddly enough, she couldn’t get the energy to worry about it, or even care. Finding her real family had become far more important.
A pang of guilt settled in her gut as she realized she was going to have to back out, but it had to be done. She fingered the script and allowed herself to daydream about going through with the audition, but she couldn’t see how to make it work. In her mind, there was little chance she would do a good job with such a huge distraction hanging over her head, and she refused to go unless she could give it her best effort. At least the play was over tomorrow night.
Courtney stood from her bed and walked over to the door, clicking the lock shut. Secure that she had the privacy she wanted, Courtney opened her computer to do some more research. She tapped the surface of her desk while she mulled over where to start. She decided the best thing was to check for any kidnapping cases around that time in the area the note came from.
Courtney entered the search terms and waited for the results to pop up. She picked up a pencil sitting on the desk beside her and absentmindedly twirled it as she waited. The list of results brought a sense of unease. There weren’t that many in the area, but there were enough that it would take time to get through each one to compare the facts she knew with the articles.
She went through the links slowly, taking in every detail, but nothing seemed to quite fit. She tried again, using a couple of other places where she had family, but had the same luck. There was no shortage of cases, but all of them seemed to have at least one detail that didn’t match up.
She shut the computer off and got up, pacing the room over and over. The dead-end made her stomach knot. Each failure pointed more and more to them telling the truth, and she didn’t know if that was something she could deal with. She plopped down on her bed, gripping the corner of her pillow tight as she curled up against it, snorting at the idea she would almost prefer them being criminals at this point.
She realized if she was going to get any further, she would have to get her hands on her parents’ old stuff. She needed solid information that came from something other than her father’s mouth right now. She just hoped they still had it in the house somewhere.
****
Courtney stood backstage feeling even edgier than she usually did before a performance. After she walked offstage, she, Matthew, and Sam would head back to her house. The idea of what she might find that night made her feel sick to her stomach, but she breathed through it in an effort to avoid messing up in front of an auditorium full of people. She may have lost her sense of self, but at least she still had her pride.
As usual, the moment she stepped onstage everything else disappeared and Courtney allowed herself to get lost in the fictional drama of her character instead of her own. She put everything she had into the performance, almost breaking down several times. At the end of one scene in particular, the audience stared at her in stunned silence. The quiet engulfed the room for several beats before giving way to thunderous applause.
She felt the same energy flowing through her for the rest of the show, and she let it carry her to the curtain call. When she took her bows, she felt like she was flying. She’d never experienced such a sensation in her life and she loved every
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